The EleOcto & EleOcto “Forza”
This is an invitation—and you’re invited to the celebration.
The EleOcto Series brings together everything we love about mandolins and vintage electric guitars—merging feel, tone, and tradition into a family of 8-string electrics built for creative exploration. Made from solid spruce and red maple, chambered for acoustic resonance, and fitted with custom pickup systems, each model offers its own voice and response.
• EL-1 : The original EleOcto. A 22” scale octave electric that balances punch and shimmer, designed to take effects and amps with attitude. Vintage tone meets modern playability. Chimey, growly, and always ready for more.
• EL-2 : Same 22” scale and body as the EL-1, but with a refined tonal palette. Features our Kapsule piezo—an in-house, multi-element pickup chambered into the spruce top and maple body—blended with a classic Seymour Duncan JB humbucker. A dedicated piezo volume control (aka “depth knob”) simulates body resonance and acoustic warmth, while a stereo output jack allows split or blended signals. Versatile, expressive, and sonically dimensional.
• EL-3 “Forza” : Born from a custom request by Sierra Hull and shaped by two years of player feedback, the Forza channels the EleOcto’s energy into a sleeker form. With a shorter 19” scale, asymmetrical body, it’s built for fast hands and expressive play. The same dual pickup system—JB + Kapsule piezo—offers expansive control and stereo output for tonal sculpting. Think: nimble, bold, and beautifully responsive.
Why should electric guitar players—or their makers—get to have all the fun?
Price: From $2295
“In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves. "
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton
We’ve done everything we can at Northfield to pay homage to beautifully dated and classic ideas in mandolin making—but we’ve been equally inspired by the musicians and new expressions of the mandolin—that are happening simultaneously to us trying to figure out who we are and what we’ll do next. New collaborations and crossovers, growing audiences and venues, and an incredible amount of new music and new appreciation are possible because you’ve all been driving us to explore every direction, and we’re grateful for the ride.
We are the axe makers, but you make them swing…..and together, we are Roaring Ahead.
A long, winding road home:
We have always been inspired by vintage electric instruments—it was obvious we had to go there… or rather here.
Specs for EL1
Top: West Virginian Red Spruce
Back / Neck / Sides: Highly Figured Michigan Maple
Fingerboard: Striped Ebony
Bridge: “Wrap Around”, Anodized Aluminum with Ebony Saddle
Tuners: Gotoh
Scale Length: 22”
Nut Width: 1-13/32” (36mm)
Fingerboard Radius: 5.64” (143.3mm) at nut, 7.7" (195.8mm) at Fingerboard end
Magnetic Pickup: Seymour Duncan Apollo 2 Humbucking Jazz Bass (Neck)
Electronics: V: A250K, T: B250K
Pick Guard: “Tortoise style” Celluloid
* Color: Vintage Amber, Ox Amber, Auburn Brown
Finish: Matte Spirit Varnish
Strings 01: Northfield Custom MED set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: G (.050), D (.032), A (.022), E (.014).
OR Northfield Custom Chi-Zuki set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: D (.014 /.032), G (.011 /.022), B (.015 /.015), E (.012 /.012)
Case: Gator GTSA-GTRELEC
Made 100% in our Marshall, MI shop.
NFO - EL1 “single JB humbucker magnetic”: $2495
Specs for EL2
Top: West Virginian Red Spruce
Back / Neck / Sides: Highly Figured Michigan Maple
Fingerboard: Striped Ebony
Bridge: “Wrap Around”, Anodized Aluminum with Ebony saddle
Tuners: Gotoh
Scale Length: 22”
Pick Guard: “Tortoise style” Celluloid
Nut Width: 1-13/32” (36mm)
Fingerboard Radius: 5.64” (143.3mm) at nut, 7.7" (195.8mm) at Fingerboard end
Magnetic Pickup: Seymour Duncan Apollo 2 Humbucking Jazz Bass (Neck)
Piezo Pickup: Northfield’s “Kapsule”
Electronics: V: A250K, T: B250K
Preamp: Fishman “PowerChip” with stereo output
Extras: Comes with Boss EQ Pedal and Custom Stereo Cable
Finish: Matte Spirit Varnish
Strings 01: Northfield Custom MED set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: G (.050), D (.032), A (.022), E (.014).
OR Northfield Custom Chi-Zuki set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: D (.014 /.032), G (.011 /.022), B (.015 /.015), E (.012 /.012)
Case: Gator GTSA-GTRELEC
Made 100% in our Marshall, MI shop.
NFO- EL2 “dual pickup, piezo and JB magnetic” : $2995
Specs for EL3 (Forza)
Top: West Virginian Red Spruce
Back / Neck / Sides: Highly Figured Michigan Maple
Fingerboard: Striped Ebony
Bridge: “Wrap Around”, Anodized Aluminum with Ebony Saddle
Tuners: Gotoh
Scale Length: 19”
Pick Guard: “Tortoise style” Celluloid
Nut Width: 1-13/32” (36mm)
Fingerboard Radius: 5.64” (143.3mm) at nut, 7.7" (195.8mm) at Fingerboard end
Magnetic Pickup: Seymour Duncan Apollo 2 Humbucking Jazz Bass (Neck)
Piezo Pickup: Northfield’s “Kapsule”
Electronics: V: A250K, T: B250K
Preamp: Fishman “PowerChip” with stereo output
Extras: Comes with Boss EQ Pedal and Custom Stereo Cable
Finish: Matte Spirit Varnish
Strings 01: Northfield Custom MED set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: G (.050), D (.032), A (.022), E (.014).
OR Northfield Custom Chi-Zuki set, GHS Dynamite Alloy “Boomers”, Ball end: D (.014 /.032), G (.011 /.022), B (.015 /.015), E (.012 /.012)
Case: Custom hardshell Gator Case
Made 100% in our Marshall, MI shop.
NFO- EL3 “dual pickup, piezo and JB magnetic” : $2995
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